"Too many printers are waiting for the economy to get better to fix their businesses. The problem is, after this recession the industry business model is going to be different. Now is the time to develop plans for implementing the processes, training and technology that will move you forward in this transition."
 
That was how Bob Hall, executive editor, Quick Printing Magazine, kicked off the recent Quick and Franchise Thought Leadership Workshop at the Xerox Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation in Rochester, N.Y. More than a dozen quick and franchise printers attended the workshop, which featured presentations by industry experts, print providers and Xerox executives on making the transition Hall spoke of.
 
Two print and marketing services providers presented on business transformations that have contributed to their successes. Rick Schildgen, owner and president, CL Graphics, Crystal Lake, Ill., said his firm has developed cross-media marketing services that enable them to further differentiate in markets where they have developed expertise, such as healthcare, not-for-profit, senior living and local government. Jason Morales, vice president of Technical Operations, Digitech, Publishing Inc, Rochester, N.Y., described the role wide-format printing had in broadening his customer base while making the transition from service bureau to digital print provider.
 
Several Xerox executives presented on a number of business opportunities available to quick printers right now. They described the higher margins many print providers are achieving by offering photo specialty products, such as photo books, calendars and greeting cards, made from personal photos; personalized communications, and novel applications produced with specialty media. "Workflow automation is critical for reducing costs to boost productivity and profits," said Jennifer McEnerney, workflow marketing manager, Xerox Corporation.
 
Hall summed it up this way: "You can't afford to just be printers anymore. You have to be business people. Printing can be something your business does, but you can no longer just buy a piece of equipment and expect it to make you successful." To help quick printers better align their businesses, Xerox offers more than 100 business development resources.
 
One attendee, Michael R. Bishop, owner, Minuteman Press, in suburban St. Louis, is bucking economic trends by opening a new printing business this month - and he's been shopping for equipment and soaking up industry knowledge wherever he can. "With Xerox, you get a lot more support in how to run your digital business in general," he said. "That's important to me, especially now, as I'm starting out in the business, and I don't know what I don't know."
 
Shortly after the workshop, Bishop acquired a Xerox 700 Digital Color Press for his new business.